Sneaking around was not Killian's idea of a perfect relationship, but Emma was adamant that they not tell the boys. Henry had never met any of the men in her life she'd said, not that there had been many, and until they were sure about them, she wanted to keep the boys in the dark. Killian continued to balk at Emma's insistence that they wait until they were sure. He was certain there was no other woman on earth for him; it was only Emma who had reservations.

The boys were to come home from camp the morning after their date, not leaving much time for them to explore this new facet of their relationship. Emma was the first to complain about their return, lamenting the fact that they'd wasted the previous five days. "Whose fault is that, love?" Killian had questioned with a smirk as she entered the kitchen to find a full breakfast waiting for her. He handed her a cup of coffee and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"So, this is what Henry and Liam keep talking about. They always complain that breakfast at your place is better than breakfast here." She dug in to the plate of bacon and eggs, fully enjoying the savory items before turning her fork to a stack of fluffy pancakes.

"Ah, yes. So I've heard. And so I noticed. I had to go to mine to get all the ingredients for our meal. How was I to woo you with breakfast using only Pop Tarts?"

"Speaking of the boys, do you want me to go get them? I'm not sure what you've got going on for today. I'd be more than happy."

He looked at her, slightly confused. "Love, I thought we'd go together." He walked around the table and sat next to her, pulling her hand into his. "I know you've missed Henry and I'm going crazy I miss Junior so much. There's no way I'm not going to be at that bus the second those boys arrive. Plus, I know they'll be excited for us."

And that's when he caught it. The look that passed across her face when he mentioned the boys being excited.

She pursed her lips and looked down at her plate before she began to speak. "About that, I don't think we should tell them just yet. I mean, it's new. And what happens if it doesn't work? What do we tell them? I think we just need to give it some time, know that we're sure, before we bring them into it. I don't want the boys to get excited and then have to disappoint them." She finally looked up at him at the end of her speech, knowing that he'd see right through her excuse. It wasn't Henry and Liam she was worried about being disappointed if their relationship didn't work. Knowing her well enough to know that confronting her about that now wouldn't get him anywhere, he let go of her hand to reach up and touch her cheek. "Love, we'll tell the boys when you're ready. But make no mistake of it, I'm not going anywhere."

Emma knew the man in her kitchen wasn't going anywhere, and that's partially what scared her. She didn't want to push him away. She wanted to accept him, and all that would come from expanding the definition of their relationship. She had always told herself that her life with Henry was complete, that she didn't need a boyfriend. And she was right, she didn't need a boyfriend. But Killian and Liam both made their lives so much better, and she didn't need to keep them at arm's length to prove her independence. She could let herself love them and still be strong, for herself and for Henry.

She knew she loved Liam, but she realized she had definitely come to love both the Jones brothers.

It had hit her the night before, and in the oddest of moments. She and Killian had fallen asleep on the sofa, the TV screen still brightly lighting the room, and when she woke, strong arm at her waist and Killian's breath ghosting over her neck, she was calm. Calm and comfortable. But it was when she tried to rouse him to move them into the bedroom that the realization came to her full force.

She wriggled out of his grasp, standing up and tugging on his arm. "Killian, wake up."

"MMmmf." He barely even acknowledged her prodding.

"Killian, come on. Let's move."

All she got from him was more mumbling, but he eventually stood and stumbled, eyes still screwed closed, behind her. She led him by the hand into her room, and guided him to the bed, pulling back the sheets, and getting him settled in. She had to smile. She'd seen this same look, eyes pinched closed with a sleepy pout, numerous times over the past half year, on Liam's face every time she had to move him from the couch after he and Henry had fallen asleep on movie night. It was the pout that did it. She loved this pout. She loved both of the Jones boys who wore it.

She climbed into bed, curling up behind Killian, this time wrapping herself around the sleeping man. His hand reached up and grasped hers when he found it, and he sighed as though he had what he needed, and fell back to sleep.

She promised herself, as she waited for sleep to claim her, that she would work on letting herself be open. She would stop trying to push him away. And she had to remind herself of that promise just hours later, as he stood and dropped a kiss to her lips, assuring her he was in this for good.

"I know," she said. He paused, as though he couldn't believe that she was openly acknowledging that he was here for her. "I know you're not going anywhere. And I know that you have every intention of making this work. I do too. I, just, you're going to need to be patient with me, Killian. This is new. Me trusting someone; me trusting in someone. But I want this. I want us."

Killian Jones ate his breakfast a happy man, knowing that Emma wanted them. And wanted to work on letting him be a part of her life. It was as much as he could ask for from her at this time, and he would take every little bit he could get.

They stood hand in hand in the school parking lot, waiting for the bus to arrive with the boys. It was clear that Killian was anxious to see his brother. He was nearly bouncing up and down on his toes as he waited. She smiled to herself at the sight, loving the man who loved his brother so much.

"There it is," he called, as he saw the yellow bus turn the corner into the lot.

As soon as it pulled in to sight, she dropped Killian's hand, a signal she still hadn't changed her mind about keeping their relationship a secret from the boys. "Just give me some time, please."

He nodded. "I understand, love. I'm ready when you are." Her slight retreat only put a tiny damper on his mood as he waited for his brother to descend the bus stairs. Moments later, Emma and Killian were both hit with boys barreling towards them, talking a mile a minute about the events of the camp.

"And they served bug juice at all of our meals. They said it had bugs in it, but I think it was just Kool-Aid."

Emma turned to Killian smiling. She'd missed this. As much as she would have loved more time alone with Killian, she was happy to have the boys home.

"Lads, Emma and I thought maybe lunch would be in order, but you both smell like you haven't showered in a week." He screwed up his face and passed his hand back and forth in front of his nose. "I think maybe we should just head home instead." He put his hand on Liam's shoulder and started steering the boy to the car.

"Wait, you two are talking again?" Henry eyed them curiously.

Emma rolled her eyes and motioned the boy to the car. "We never weren't talking kid. Now move."

They drove home silently listening as the boys continued to rattle off camp stories rapid fire, one after the other. Emma was sure they wouldn't have a moment of silence for the next week. As soon as they were home, each boy was marched into his respective apartment, and sent straight for the bath.

Emma was loading Henry's laundry into the machine when her phone dinged.

I miss you. Three words, but she laughed and her face lit up. Her response was instant. Isn't that my line?

Just then Henry walked out into the kitchen, scrounging for food. "Mom, can Liam come over tonight?"

She tried to school her face, hoping the boy would not notice her earlier smile and question her. "You just spent a week with him. You're not sick of him already?"

"But we have to go back to school Monday. It's the last night we can have a sleepover."

She sighed. "Alright, kid. Why don't you go over there and see what Killian says. But remember, he hasn't seen Liam in a while. Maybe tell him to come over closer to dinner time." She was practically yelling the last bit at Henry as his back disappeared out the front door. She received a text before she saw her son again.

My brother's invited for dinner, but not me, Swan? What shall I do?

I've had your cooking. I think you'll have a very nice dinner.

He'd been hoping she'd get the hint and invite him over, but obviously she was standing firm on not letting the boys know. He knew Henry would spot the change in an instant if he joined them. So he prepared himself for another lonely evening once the boys departed for Emma's.

He'd barely finished his dinner, opening his second beer when his phone lit up with a text from her, this time it was his turn to laugh. It was two texts in a row.

Thinking of you, babe.
Whoops, wrong number.

I'm lonely, Swan. You're all having fun without me. He added a pouting emoji. His phone rang indicating a FaceTime call almost immediately, a smiling Emma appearing on the screen.

"You're in luck." She spun the phone around to show two boys passed out on either end of the sofa. "Camp wore them out and they're dead asleep. They didn't even make it five minutes into the movie."

She'd turned the phone back to herself, and could see the questioning look on his face. "And how exactly does this make me lucky, Swan? You're still there. I'm still here. I'm still lonely, despite seeing your beautiful face on my phone screen."

Emma raised an eyebrow, taking a page out of his book. "Maybe you should come over and help me transfer them to their room, and then maybe you could stay? You'd have to get up and leave before they got up in the morning, but.."

He answered before she could even finish the thought. "I'll be right over."

"Emma?" There was a scared voice and a knocking at her door. She turned and checked her phone, seeing it was 3AM. Too early, and yet too late. Killian was still dead asleep, and she knew from her experience the previous night it was no use in trying to wake him. She crossed the room to the door, hoping she could shield Killian from Liam's view.

"Hey kid, what is it?" She looked down at the boy, and noted that he hadn't been crying, but looked very distressed.

"I woke up here, and I wanted to see Killian. I went home, but he's not there." She didn't know how to respond, and her brain was scrambling. "I… it's just that… I missed him, Emma and I wanted to talk to him."

She hung her head. One day. They couldn't even make it one day before being discovered. Opening the door fully, she motioned toward the bed, and watched as Liam's eyes registered his brother's presence beneath the covers.

"Good luck trying to wake him, kid. He sleeps as soundly as you do." Liam climbed up into bed, snuggling himself in next to Killian, usurping her place in her own bed. She wanted to be put out, but was okay making the exception this once. Liam had been through a lot this year, and if he needed his brother, she was more than okay with that. She climbed in next to them, and wrapped her arms around the boy.

"Is this really okay with you, Liam? Me and Killian? You can tell me if it's not." For some reason, in the dead of night, just as she'd made peace with the situation, panic came over her. What if this wasn't the right thing for Liam? What if he were only going along with it because of Henry? What if he wanted Killian all to himself? He might not be ready to share his brother yet.

She got an enthusiastic nod from the boy, and a "yep," as the only response. Just then, Killian seemed to rouse slightly, registering the boy's presence in Emma's bed. "Liam." he mumbled, and flung an arm around the boy to hug him.

As Emma settled back in, looking at the two dark heads next to her in the bed she felt slightly jealous. She wished Henry were still young enough to come crawling into her room. If he were here, she'd have everything she needed. She relaxed in next to Liam, pulling him into a closer hug, reaching one arm far enough over to rest on Killian. They weren't Henry, but they were still her boys and she loved them.

For the second morning in a row, Emma was treated to a home cooked breakfast. This morning's was slightly more burned, as the boys had insisted on assisting Killian, and a lot louder. When she entered the room, there were three grinning faces looking up at her.

"I told you so," Henry said as soon as he saw her.

"HENRY!" It was Killian who admonished him.

"What? Operation Velociraptor worked." She just rolled her eyes and sat down at the table, waiting for one of her boys to serve her breakfast.

"Speaking of that, why Velociraptor?" She knew Liam and Henry always had reasons behind the operation names, she'd just never figured this one out.

Henry smiled. "It's like in Jurassic Park. You'd be so focused on Killian, you'd never notice us attacking from the sides."

She nearly spit out orange juice she laughed so hard. "Clever girl," was her only response to her son.

"So does this mean we can start eating dinner together again?" That question came from Liam, looking at his brother.

"Yes, lad. As often as it works out with my and Emma's schedules, I expect."

"And Mom, you'll come out on the boat for sure now, right?" She looked at Killian a little sheepishly, and Henry didn't miss it. "You already went out on the boat, didn't you? We were supposed to go together."

"It's alright lad. I've already told Emma what fine first mates you both make, and she's promised, nay, she actually asked, to come out again. We'll all go out, I assure you."

Emma looked over at the boys, both with disappointed looks on their faces. "How about next weekend if the weather holds. Is that soon enough?" The boys were placated and ran off, leaving the dishes to the adults.

Killian pulled Emma into his arms. "Now, no sneaking around. Isn't this much better?" He leaned down, pressing his lips against hers, groaning as her hands found their way into his hair.

"GROSS." They both turned to see the boys standing in the kitchen doorway, mouths agape at what they'd just walked in on.

"Lads, you better get used to this. I plan on kissing your mother quite frequently. Maybe you should have rethought your involvement in Operation Velociraptor." Emma had buried her face in Killian's shoulder, laughing at the expressions on the boys' faces. They had both grabbed drinks from the refrigerator and rushed from the room.

"Maybe we shouldn't scar them for life? Definitely we shouldn't scare them from the kitchen when there are dishes to be done."

"Yes, but let's absolutely give them reason to know they need to knock before entering a room."

I was suffering from a bit of writer's block. There have been a lot of lovely people who offered support and helped me get my brain unstuck. To mention two, if you're not reading Ooshka's Prairie Lullaby (or before that Kind Hearts and Cat Flaps) or kjb2609's The Invitation (and before that Never Tear Us Apart) do yourselves a favor and go fix that.